Nightmare over,learnt many lessons,says Vijender

The nightmare is finally over and I am back to a normal life,said a relieved Vijender Singh as he broke his silence on the sensational drug scandal that severely hurt his reputation,insisting that more than a crisis,it was a learning experience that left him stronger and wiser.

Written by Press Trust Of India | New Delhi |
Updated: April 14, 2014 2:23 pm

The nightmare is finally over and I am back to a normal life,said a relieved Vijender Singh as he broke his silence on the sensational drug scandal that severely hurt his reputation,insisting that more than a crisis,it was a learning experience that left him stronger and wiser.

Speaking to PTI in an interview,his first after the scandal broke out more than two months back,the Olympic bronze-medallist opened up about what he went through before being given an all-clean certificate by the National Anti-Doping Agency.

The nightmare is over and I have started training and looking forward to the World Championships in October, said the 27-year-old middleweight boxer,the first Indian to become world number one in international rankings.

I am thankful to the Haryana government,the Sports Ministry,the Indian Olympic Association and the Indian Boxing Federation for standing by me. Now I am back to training in the camp and nothing can be better then this, he added.

It has been more than two months since Vijender found himself in quandary when his name cropped up in a massive drug haul after Punjab police recovered heroin,worth around Rs 130 crore,from NRI Anoop Singh Kahlons house in Zirakpur.

The presence of a car used by Vijenders wife Archana near the house raised a media storm and on On April 1,Punjab Police said Vijender bought heroin for personal consumption on 12 different occasions from Kahlon.

Vijender denied any wrongdoing and underwent a NADA dope test which came out negative. The strapping six-footer from Haryana said there are lessons to be learnt even in the worst of crisis and he learnt his while dealing with the controversy.

I believe,whatever god does,he does it for the good. Even in this incident,god must have thought something good for me, he said,adding,I learnt a few things from the incident. I realised who are my true friends and who are the hangers on. I realised that difference because all my good friends formed a ring of support around me.

Another lesson is that I wont ever be as casually friendly with anyone as I used to be. I wont ever leave my car keys or my mobile phone with anybody. I have become wary of people, he said,adding,I was in Mumbai when the whole thing broke out. Suddenly I see my car being found somewhere,people taking my name and questions being asked about whether I was taking drugs. It was painful, he said.

Asked if,even for once,he felt his achievements were being completely forgotten while his integrity was questioned,Vijender chose to laugh it off. May be the TV channels love me a lot,thats why they kept showing me for so long. There is a price to pay if you are famous, he quipped.

He refused to call it the biggest crisis of his life. I dont think it was the biggest crisis… life is unpredictable… I am taking it positively. I havent lost faith in anything, he explained.

I always try to see the good in everything and that gives me strength. Even when I lost in the London Olympics quarterfinals,I said to myself dont lose heart,god has his own plans. You accept whatever challenge you face and become stronger, he said.

He has already missed a couple of exposure trips and wont be there for the Asian Championships next month after giving the national trials a miss. Vijender,if selected,will next be seen in action only at the October World Championships. Asked if he is intimidated by the scrutiny that he would invite due to the scandal,Vijender said,I have had detractors all my life.

Even at the peak of my performance,my abilities were questioned. I dont get affected. My job is to train hard and deliver results in tournaments and thats how it will always be for me because that is the best way to deal with criticism, he added.

My grandmother often told me log unhi ko badnaam karte hain jinka naam hota hai (people malign only those who have a name). My family and my wife Archana,whom I married just two years ago,stood by me like a rock during this crisis

Vijender also thanked his fans,saying their adulation formed a crucial cog in his support system.

Its a closed chapter now. I just want to focus on everything that I do inside the ring.